Harma Heikens

WE'RE SUPPORTING

Israeli artist Know Hope creates elegantly lyrical murals and street installations that are an unabashed call for understanding and peace. Truly inspirational stuff.

WE'RE THINKING

Who wouldn’t want one of these to escape the urban bustle on? Camper Bike is a functioning sculptural piece by artist Kevin Cyr which was built in April 2008 and has since become the subject of a series of his paintings. Read more

Heavy metal and hip-hop are perhaps the most popular forms of rebellion for kids the world over. In Malaysia, metal — particularly black metal — has taken such a strong hold that the Fatwa Council there banned it, fearing that the music would compel listeners to rebel against religion. Contrary to the council’s intentions, black metal is as popular as ever in Malaysia, and is a recognizable cultural touchstone there, as indicated by the above clip from the 2005 film Filem Rock.

WE'RE TRAVELLING TO

On the roof of Bangkok’s Banyan Tree Hotel is a dining experience like no other. The Vertigo Bar sits sixty one floors up, and serves delicious gourmet meals and cocktails. These are expensive by Thai standards, but cheap enough for shoestring travellers to indulge in now and then (a cocktail costs around AUD$12). I’ve spent hour after hour in the bar, drinking and smoking and taking in the amazing view. Most nights at Vertigo end the same, with fast-moving storm clouds rolling in without fail at about eleven pm. While wait staff scurry to move tables, and drunken diners navigate the steep stairs down to the safety of the hotel, the more hardy can sit and watch the clouds race closer and closer towards the building, soaking in both the atmosphere and the rainwater until the lightning gets too close for comfort.

WE'RE READING

Before MTV, MySpace, and viral marketing, album covers had the potential to make or break a band. First impressions count, and many a music geek have purchased albums on the cover artwork alone. So what these guys were thinking is simply beyond me. Although, if anyone has a spare copy of Devastating Dave the Turntable Slave then I know someone, ahem, who could take it off you. Read more

WE'RE LISTENING TO

Stylistically The Asteroids Galaxy Tour is hard to pin down, except to say that they throw one hell of a party – which may be why those music-loving folks at Apple chose them to help sell what’s being touted as ‘the funnest iPod ever’. Sun-drenched pop melodies collide with Technicolor dreams, anchored by the band’s shared love of the classic soul stylings of Marvin, Stevie and Sly that can be heard in the horns snaking through Around The Bend, as well as the slinky The Sun Ain’t Shining No More [below], the Thomas Gold remix of which we have available for free download in the Music Download section of Lost At E Minor [psst, it's in the third column], along with a stack of other cool tunes. Get those iPods ‘a thumpin’!

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WE'RE WEARING

When Big Brother means nothing more than a new low in television standards, the warnings of Orwell’s classic 1984 are more poignant than ever. Miniluv — or The Ministry of Love in Oldspeak — is where Winston was brutally tortured, brain-washed and ultimately learned to love Big Brother. And no, he wasn’t watching TV. Wear your highbrow literary tastes with pride. Created by graphic-tee fashion label the-affair and printed on soft American Apparel, this tee is available for purchase through our online store.